Link latch for dump-car doors



Mar. 27, 1923.

H. S. HART.

LINKLATCH FOR DUMP CAR DOORS.

man JAN. a. |922:

Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

UNITED STATES HARRY S. HART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LINK LATCH FOR DUMP-CAR DOORS.

Application led January 3, 1922.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARRY S. HART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Link Latches for Dump-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a locking and latching mechanism for the cargo discharging doors of dump cars, and particularly to that type of such mechanisms employing a link or links for sustaining, against the internal load, the free end of the upwardly and downwardly hinging door.

vInniy application, Serial No. 526,590 of even date herewith, I have disclosed and broadly claimed a link pivotally suspended by its upper end in pendent position upon a. vertical wall or face of the car, and presenting its lower end in position to serve as a sling for a projection or projections upon the free end of the door the link being adapted to be displaced outwardly by the beveled end of the projection to permit the projection to pass the lower end of the link in the closing action of the door, and the link returning by gravity for engagement beneath the projection; and in said application releasable means are provided for resisting unintentionalk outward displacement of the link that would release the door, such means comprising a keeper pivotally mounted upon the face of the car and swinging in a plane that intersects the path of the link.

The present invention [feeks to provide another form of means for resisting displacement of the link. and proceeds upon the principle of mounting the releasable link retaining means upon the door, and constructing the same in the form of a pivoted hook, which is displaced by the link as the latter gravitates to door-engaging position, but drops in front of the link as soon as the latter reaches said position. The present invention further contemplates a clogging device which is adapted to enter the path of the locking hook after the latter has engaged the link and thus render additionally secure against displacement, in transit, the door latching means. The securing dog is preferably in the form of a pendent keeper that retains its position by gravity, and as such may be employed for direct engagement with the link in organizations in which the locking hook is not employed.

Serial No. 526,589.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pair of latching means embodying the several features of the present invention, together with a' portion of a dumping car upon which they are mounted; and Figure 2 is .an end elevation of such latching means with parts of the car shown in vertical transverse section Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figures l and 2 showing the latching mechamsm on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 3 showing a modified construction of the latching means 6 represents a portion of a dump car having a discharging opening 7 and a door 8 for closing said opening, which is hinged at 9 and carries at its free end one or more projections 10 which receivealatching mechanism for supporting the door in closed position. i

The latching mechanism comprises a link 11 suspended through the medium of its upper transverse bar 12 by means ofthe strap 13 so that it hangs pendent upon the surface of the car member 6, with its `lower transverse bar 14 projecting below saidA member 6 and in position to engage beneath the projection 10 on which the door is supported. Link 11 swings perpendicularly to the face of the car member 6 in moving into and out ofengagement beneath the projection 10. In order that it may automatically swing out of position in the closing of the door, projection 10 is formed with a beveled face 10a that engages the lower transverse bar 14 of the link. As soon as the projection has thus forced its way past the link, the latter swings by gravity back into the position in which it engages beneath the projection. As thus far described, the parts do not differ from corresponding parts disclosed in my co-pending application hereinbefore identified.

In order to lock the link 11 against door releasing displacement, particularly when the car is in transit, a keeper 15 is suspended from a pivot 16 which permits it to swing in a plane transverse to that in which the link 11 swings, and from this pivot the keeper normally hangs by gravity in locking position.

According to Figures 1 to 4, the keeper 15 does not act directly upon the link 11 but indirectly thereon through the medium of a locking hook 17 which is pivoted at 18 upon the member 10 of the door, and therefore con stituting a locking device carried by the door; and this locking member 17 is adapted to engage in front of the bar 14 when the latter reaches its door-engaging position, and the keeper 15 gravitates to a position above the member 17 to prevent the latter from moving upward under vibration. Locking member or hook 17 has an inclined face 19 that receives the link as the latter swings to doorengaging position, and this causes the hook 17 to be raised toadmit the link beneath it, so that by the single act of throwing the door upward to closing position, link 11 is thrown outward by the inclined `face 10a until the door reaches its closed position, and thereupon the link returns by gravity to engage beneath the projection 10, and in so doing throws the hook 17 upward and permits the latter to return to link lockingposition as soon as the link reaches the limit o'l' its motion. l

According to Figure 5, the link 11 is engag-ed directly by a gravity actuated pendent keeper 15a which is constructed and mounted substantially identically with the keeper 15 in Figures 1 to 4L, but is of suicient length to overlie the bottom bar 14 of the link and prevent the latter from displacement.

Downward movement of the locking hook 17 may be limited in any suitable way when not sustained by the link, as, for instance, by inserting a limit pin 2O in front of its shoulder 21, as shown in Figure 4l. To release the locking hook 17 from the keeper 15, or the link 11 from the direct control of the keeper 15a, the keeper need only be thrown to vertical position upon its pivot 16 and until the link is displaced from doorsecuring position. Preferably the keeper will be capable of retaining this vertical position, as, for instance, by having its cham fered lower end bind against the strap 13.

I claim:

1. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, a swinging door latching member adapted to engage the door to hold it in closed position, and releasable means carried by the door engaging the latching member to prevent'door-releasing movement thereof.

2. In combination with a dump car and its cargo, discha'ging door, a door latching sling swinging to and from engagement with a part of the door, and a locking hook carried by the door and engaging said sling.

3. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, a swinging door latching member adapted to engage the door and hold it in closed position, and releasable means carried by the door engaging the latching member to prevent door-releasing movement thereof; said latching member being displaced by the closing movement of the door and returning automatically into engagement' with the door; and said releasable means being displaced by the latching member as the latter returns to engage 4the door, and being adapted to thereafter enter automatically into engagement with said latching member.

4l. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, a door latching sling swinging to and from engagement with a part of the door, and a keeper adapted to control the release of the sling Jfrom the door; said keeper comprising a pendent member automatically retaining its controlling position by gravity.

5. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, a door latching sling swinging to and from engagement with a part of the door` a locking hook carried by the door and engaging said sling, and a keeper movable into and out of the path of said hook.

6. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, a door latching sling swinging to and from engagement with a part of the door, a locking hook carried by the door and engaging said sling, and a keeper movable into and out of the path of said hook; said door being adapted to displace the sling by its movement to closing position; said sling being adapted to displace the hook by its m yement to door-engaging position; and said hook automatically returning to engage the sling yafter the latter has engaged the door.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th day of December, 1921. .y

HARRY S. HART. 

